>Good point. Though I guess as long as I'm down this road I may
>as well add that these points work even better as arguments
>for a real minor league. The difference between 17/18 year
>olds and 20/21 year olds with those maturity issues isn't just
>a 0/1 matter of are they mature enough - but they can be
>taught those things. I bet a lot of owners/GMs would like the
>certainty of teaching those things within the organization.
>
>Or not. Part of a big driver for me is just remembering how
>fucking stupid I was when I was 18 but also knowing that
>stupid didn't just dissolve away on a set schedule.


You're right, I don't think NBA owners are against having a real minor league system they're just cheap and don't want to pay for it when the NCAA has been doing it for them for years.

As for you other point you're also right, different people mature on different schedules but still overall its usually a pretty big jump from being in high school and living in your parents house with curfew and having the majority of your decisions made for you to being on a college campus for a few years where you have a significantly more amount of freedom and responsibility.

Then once they become pros that freedom and responsibility is multiplied exponentially.

"Should I blow off my 6am workouts because I want to keep making it rain on Diamond at the Player's Club?" can be SLIGHTLY easier decision at 21 as opposed to 19.

In the mid-90's when high schoolers first started coming into the NBA they were usually coming into teams with mostly older veteran players that would show them the ropes but now its like the league has collectively gotten younger and the "vets" on a lot of teams are 24-25 years and still figuring out some things themselves.